


Broken Necklace

by LooneyLlama



Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 新ムーミン | Shin Moomin (Anime 1972)
Genre: F/F, Snufkin and Little My are mlm wlw solidarity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:21:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27806746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LooneyLlama/pseuds/LooneyLlama
Summary: Little My's famous temper gets the better of her, and she ends up destroying Snorkmaiden's hard work.  Why does she have to be like this?  And why are all her feelings surrounding Snorkmaiden so complicated?Shin Moomin characterization, based on the episode "The Broken Necklace."  Or as I like to call it, the mlm & wlw solidarity episode.Also, this episode has never been translated, so any dialogue is guesswork on my part.
Relationships: Lilla My | Little My & Snusmumriken | Snufkin, Lilla My | Little My/Snorkfröken | The Snork Maiden, Mumintrollet | Moomintroll & Lilla My | Little My
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	Broken Necklace

On a crisp autumn day, Little My and Snorkmaiden sat underneath an old tree. They had gathered baskets of the season’s bounty—small gourds, dry nuts, and acorns—to string into necklaces. It was supposed to be a calm little outing, an opportunity for the girls to spend some time together. 

But Little My had to go and get angry. 

Her temper felt like a volcano sometimes; it would just come bursting out of her at random times and make her destroy everything in her path. At home, among her swarm of siblings, it got her the attention she craved. 

Here, it made her feel like a monster. 

So when she pricked her finger with the bore and Snorkmaiden laughed at her angry shrieking, Little My yelled at Snorkmaiden and stomped away to work by herself. Not that Snorkmaiden even yelled back; Sniff and Moomin soon came by and replaced Little My under the tree. 

Then Snorkmaiden finished her necklace, and it was the most beautiful out of all of theirs. It wasn’t fair; Snorkmaiden was already so beautiful, she didn’t need anything to make her even prettier. Meanwhile, Little My’s necklace was tiny, clumsy, and frumpy. She just wanted to be pretty, too, so she tried to take the necklace off Snorkmaiden to wear herself. Next thing she knew, the string has snapped in her hand, and the beads were rolling down the hill into the river. Sniff tried to grab them, but he just tripped and landed in the dirt, and they all got away. 

All eyes went to Little My. 

Suddenly, Moomin was yelling at her and Snorkmaiden was crying. Little My could feel her whole body getting hot; she wanted to scream right back in Moomin’s face, to stomp on Sniff’s big clumsy feet for tripping when he tried to rescue the beads, to shake Snorkmaiden until she stopped those awful heartbreaking tears. 

Instead of doing any of that, Little My ran away. It was as if her anger had turned into fuel for her feet, which took her to the outskirts of town. Finally out of breath but not yet out of rage, Little My turned to a nearby tree and beat her fists against it until her screams finally turned into sobs. 

It wasn’t fair—she didn’t mean to break the necklace! She just wanted to be pretty, too. Maybe then Snorkmaiden would want to look at her, and then they would spend more time together, and then...

And then...

Well, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to happen next, but it didn’t matter, anyway. She was angry, clumsy, bratty Little My, and no necklace could change that. 

“I don’t think punching that tree is going to do any good. Maybe try an axe!” 

Little My whirled around to face the intruder. 

“What do you want, Stinky?!” 

The furball put his paws up placatingly. “Hey, I’m not up to anything tricksy!” He cleared his throat. “To be honest, I was just wondering what you’re doing out so late. It’ll be dark really soon.” 

Little My looked up from the tree. Sure enough, the sky was burning orange. She twisted her face into a scowl. 

“I won’t go home! I’m not going back!” 

“Sounds like you need somewhere to hide” Stinky piped up. “Well, I know just the place.” 

———————

Little My followed Stinky up the Lonely Mountain that night. They scrambled over rocks and scaled cliffs until they finally reached the peak The whole area was shrouded in an icy cloud, exhaled by none other than the Groke herself. At first, Little My worried it would be too cold for her to stay long, but Stinky offered to retrieve some of her winter clothes from her sister’s home. After a brief hesitation, she asked him to bring up the necklace-making supplies she had left behind, too. 

Hidden in the Groke’s glittering, frosted cave, Little My felt like she had left her sister and all her friends behind in a whole different world. That is, until Snufkin stepped into the cave with Moomin in tow the very next night. Of course, she should have known he’d be able to find her. She hastily hid the string of beads she had been making behind her. 

“Little My! You’re ok!” Moomin started running toward her, but halted when she shot him a poisonous glare. 

He tried a gentler tone. “Everyone’s been worried sick about you. Won’t you come back home with us?” 

Little My just turned away with a “hmph.” It wasn’t like Moomin knew anything. He was the apple of his parents’ eyes and a friend to the whole town. Snorkmaiden adored him. Behind her back, Little My fidgeted with the necklace. She deflated a bit. After all, even if she did manage to replace Snorkmaiden’s broken necklace with one half as pretty, it wouldn’t fix any of the other mistakes she had made in the past, or any of the ones she was sure to make in the future. Nothing would change. What was the point? 

Little My looked up and flinched. Snufkin was staring right through her with his intense dark eyes. Something in his face looked understanding, which didn’t seem fair, since she herself didn’t really know what she was feeling. She felt her blood begin to boil, and readied herself to snap at him. 

“You’re warm enough? And you’re getting enough to eat?”

Little My blinked, the flame extinguished in her surprise. 

“Of course!” Stinky jumped in. “Ol’ Groke and I have been taking good care of her! She can stay here as long as she needs.” 

Snufkin nodded. “Come on, Mumi.” 

Moomin hesitated for a second, looking nervously back at Little My, before running to join Snufkin at the mouth of the cave. 

“I’ll tell your sister that you’re safe,” Snufkin called over his shoulder. “I think she deserves to know that much, at least.” 

Even with Snufkin’s flat tone, the words were still enough to send a pang of guilt through Little My’s chest. She put a hand to her heart and groaned. As much as it got her in trouble, at least anger was simple. All her other feelings were so tangled and complicated. 

With a sigh, Little My brought the necklace out from behind her back and returned to her work. She would stay with the monsters, where she belonged. At least up here, the Groke’s icy chill kept her temper cool. 

———————

Two days later, it was done. 

The process had been tediously slow, and her fingers hurt where she had pricked herself with the bore, but the necklace was finally done. Every gourd and acorn was fastidiously aligned, with all the broken ones thrown out. She had meticulously matched every piece to create near perfect symmetry. The coating of frost made the beads sparkle like gemstones. 

It was beautiful. And it had come from her. 

For a second, Little My could only stare. Then, Stinky bounced over, breaking her out of her trance. 

“Hey, that’s really something! I bet you could sell that for a lot of money!” 

The Groke gave the little beast a cold glare before turning to examine Little My’s handiwork herself.  “It really is gorgeous, sweetie. I hope you’re proud of yourself!” 

Little My glanced to the smiling faces of her new friends, then back at the necklace. 

“I think...I’m ready to go back.” 

With her precious cargo safe in her bag, Little My and Stinky began their journey down the mountain. It was a lot faster going down than it had been coming up, and all too soon they had reached her sister’s house. Little My stopped short; she could hear several different voices from inside, and none of the silhouettes in the window belonged to her sister. 

For the first time in her life, Little My hesitated. She had only been prepared to confront her sister this evening, but it seemed like the whole darn town was waiting in the house. Was she really ready to see her friends yet? To apologize to Snorkmaiden? 

“Want me to go in first?” 

Little My jumped; wrapped up in her own worries, she had nearly forgotten Stinky was there.  “Would you do that for me?” She asked  


“Sure thing!” He bounced up to the door and turned the knob with his foot.  “Hey everybody!” She heard him call. “Mind if I come in? I’ve brought a friend!” 

That was her cue. With a deep breath, Little My peeked around the doorway and shuffled into the house. 

“Little My!” 

The happiness in Snorkmaiden’s voice gave Little My the courage to meet her eyes. The smile on her face lit up the whole room, and Little My felt herself smiling back. Something green caught her eye, however, and Little My shifted her gaze to the bed in the corner. Her sister was lying there, sickeningly still. 

“Big sis!” She threw herself onto the bed, tears pricking at her eyes. She thought Moomin had been exaggerating when he mentioned that her sister was worried sick. 

“My...?” The covers shifted beneath her, and Little My looked up; the Mymble’s daughter was opening her eyes. 

“Little My! Oh, thank goodness!” She pulled her tiny sister into a hug, which Little My eagerly returned. Despite her worry over her older sister’s dramatics, she was glad that the Mymble’s daughter had missed her that much. Perhaps that was a selfish thought, but it felt good to know her sister loved her enough to worry herself sick. 

With a reassuring pat, Little My slipped out of her sister’s arms and made her way to the corner, where Snorkmaiden was waiting. 

“Snorkmaiden...” she began, but trailed off, unable to find her words. Instead, Little My pulled the necklace she had made out of her basket; maybe her work could say what she couldn’t. 

“Oh, Little My!” Snorkmaiden gasped. She dipped her head as an invitation. Swallowing hard, Little My got up on her tiptoes and gently pulled the necklace over Snorkmaiden’s head, letting it nestle in the soft fluff of her neck. 

“It’s beautiful.” Snorkmaiden’s eyes sparkled, and they weren’t looking at the necklace, they were looking at _her_. Little My felt her face grow warm—not burning hot, but pleasantly warm, like she was sitting by a cozy fireplace. 

The Mymble’s daughter piped up. “Stinky, thank you for taking care of my sister.” 

“No problem! Groke and I were happy to have her.” 

He hopped onto the windowsill, bringing the crowd’s attention to the imposing white figure of the Groke outside. Flashing Little My a wink, she began singing, a strange, deep, lonely sound. As she sang, ice crystals began solidifying in the air, creating gigantic snowflakes. They looked far too big to stay in the air, and yet the floated delicately, sparkling in the moonlight. Everyone crowded by the windows to watch the gorgeous display, but Little My hung back. She caught Snufkin’s eye, and he gave her a rare grin before shifting closer to Moomin. With a smile on her own face, she sidled up to Snorkmaiden to enjoy the show. 

If Stinky and Snufkin could understand her when she didn’t understand herself...

If the Mymble’s daughter and Snorkmaiden could still like her despite her temper...

If it was possible for the Groke to channel her own fearsome power into something so beautiful...

Well then, maybe even someone as stubborn as Little My could change for the better. 


End file.
